World Elephant Day: Why conservation efforts in Africa evoke opposing reactions

Uneven distribution of the jumbos across the continent has led to increase in human-wildlife conflict and loss of habitat

Centre notifies India’s 31st elephant reserve in Tamil Nadu

The new reserve will be spread over an area of 1,197 square kilometres in Agasthiyamalai

Live electric wires a huge threat to wild elephants; two female jumbos die in Odisha

Forest department, power distribution companies to blame, say experts 

Bihar man-eater shot: ‘We need to put down problem animals for wildlife conservation’

Shafath Ali Khan, who was engaged by the Maharashtra government in the operation to eliminate Avni in 2018, released a book this year to narrate …

CITES COP19: India’s freshwater turtle in danger of extinction

India puts forward proposal to move it to Appendix I; Common hippo, straw-headed bulbul, African elephant at risk too

Hunting elephants, rhinos and pangolins for trade may affect climate, says UN paper; here is how

UNODC paper highlights that illegal wildlife trade has implications for ecosystem function and resilience, including to the persistence of …

As told to Parliament (December 13, 2022): 130 sq km of forest land set to be diverted in Great Nicobar Island

Mitigation measures have been proposed for the ‘sustainable development’ projects

73 elephants, 4 lions run over by trains in 4 years along with 63,000 other animals: CAG report

Report found that preventive measures circulated to zonal railways to prevent animal deaths had not been implemented even after 10 years

Elephant poaching rates vary across Africa: 19 years of data from 64 sites suggest why

Poaching rates are lower where there is strong national governance and where local levels of human development are relatively high

Save Africa’s forest elephants if you want the Congo rainforest to continue capturing carbon: Study

World’s second-biggest rainforest could lose 6-9 % of its carbon capture ability, if the forest elephant goes extinct, says Saint Louis …

Similipal National Park a poacher’s paradise? Experts note a rise in incidents

On January 22, carcass of a male elephant, whose population is already on a decline, was found 

Biting drought fuels human-wildlife conflicts in Kenya, Horn of Africa

Ongoing dry spell displaces wildlife from their habitats in search of pasture and water

Wildlife Institute of India working on vaccine to reduce ‘vermin’ populations, awaits further funding

The immune-contraception has already been successfully used in USA, Brazil and Africa

It’s high time to move towards compassionate, responsible wildlife tourism

Elephants used for tourist rides in Amer Fort in Jaipur, Rajasthan are part of the tourism packages that subject these wild animals to live in …

Beyond protected areas: This new book explores how India's conservation scene turned inclusionary

‘At the Feet of Living Things’ journals experiences of ecologists who practise a collaborative and socio-ecologically sensitive …

Simply Put: Human-animal compassion

As told to Parliament (March 13, 2023): 19% PM2.5 emissions in Indo-Gangetic Plains come from households

Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Chandigarh and Delhi emit 437 gigagrams PM2.5 per year through household cooking 

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (March 16, 2023)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal   

Total weight of humans is 10 times that of all wild mammals put together

The weight distribution is also skewed: 40% global biomass of wild land mammals is concentrated in only 10 species

As told to Parliament (April 3, 2023): Over Rs 7,400 crore disbursed in 2022-23 for natural gas infrastructure

All that was discussed in the House through the day  

The Borneo elephant has been overshadowed by its bigger cousins: Nurzhafarina Othman

Down To Earth speaks to Nurzhafarina Othman, a Malaysian elephant ecologist, on the little-known Borneo elephant  

Deep dive: Science alone cannot provide solutions to human-elephant interactions in South India; here’s how

Government departments, nonprofits and scientists must work together to advance inclusive policies without discounting the urgency for scientists …

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (April 18, 2023)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal  

From enormous elephants to tiny shrews: How mammals shape and are shaped by Africa’s landscapes

Africa’s mammals are a global treasure that must be protected

Kerala’s gaur-human conflict debates fail to address some core issues; here is why

Gaurs had turned violent & aggressive after being shot by poachers; contentious issues, including the role of poachers, remain unaddressed